The 300BO is not that great of a round (except if you suppress and used as SBR). Everyone that releases a 300BO conversion has a hard time getting the gas settings right...when they do...it is very gassy (suppressed)....I mean the gas block is literally only about 3-4" from the chamber.... gassy gassy gassy system

French (nato country) went with 7.62x39 for their GIGN with the BREN 2...

I could be wrong but I thought they went with x39 because they already had an abundance of it. And although it has similar ballistics, the development of improved projectiles for 300 Blk and the fact that it does perform so well suppressed make it a formidable round. Some of the stuff Lehigh Defense is putting out is astonishing, and from first hand knowledge it does a fine job on feral hogs. I feel a lot of manufactures tried to cater to people and make the gun cycle subs unsupressed, which leads to a very gassy experience. Others achieve this with adjustable gas blocks, notably the sig rattler which functions flawlessly on I believe a 5.5 inch barrel

The mass of people are locked in to the 5.56 and 9mm offerings because that is whats available....enthusiast....which make up maybe..honestly...at max 10% of firearms owners...only about 1-2% invested into the 300BO round.

With the current slump in the industry...I don't see 300BO catch on more...it was the rage when it came out...but now...more people realize they will A) never get an SBR B) never get a suppressor...which at that point 300BO offers no real added benefit over 5.56...especially when you factory in increased ammo costs and limited effective range.

No argument...if you are planning to SBR and run a suppressor...100% 300BO is an amazing round for just that.

I'm not sure that I totally agree, though you do have some good points.

I have an SBR AR (which I think the AR is probably the most common sbr type out there due to the ability to use so many different calibers and uppers on them).

And I built an integral suppressed upper that sounds really good and is hard hitting with subs at typical HD ranges. While I haven't been able to use it to get a whitetail with yet (but not for a lack of effort on my part), at the distances that I hunt, I have no doubt that it will do what it needs to in that role too.

It's not gassy at all. Though, I don't use many of the powders that are common for blackout either for many reasons. Loud, dirty and gassy being the most prevalent.

Once I experimented with various loads, I can make plinking loads for about 18 cents a pop.

On the opposite end, and expensive, for HD/SD loads, I am a huge fan of the Lehigh max expansion 194's. For obvious reasons I don't make a habit of plinking with them because they do cost so much, but I do admit to having a couple mags loaded up earmarked for HD and hunting if I want or need to. And for that, they excel.

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I was rather against the blackout when AAC was first getting the ball rolling for saami standardization. I thought it was very under-handed and borderline thievery.

After almost 8 years or so and the dust settled, I finally wanted to see what I could do with it. And I still usually call it the 300 whisper instead

At first, it was very disappointing suppressed. Sounded more akin to garbage cans banging together than what I thought it should sound like.

So, I got with a few friends, we sat down and worked up some loads that use unconventional powder, I finally got my F1 approved and I was able to go a new route with that, and now I can say that I'm content with the blackout.

But it was more of an enigma at first. I was determined that I wasn't going to let it get the best of me. After almost 2 years of experimentation and effort, here I am.

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I love good reasonable discussions.I agree that Lehigh is pricey and that x39 is cheap and abundant and can be suppressed when done right. Is it niche sure but, the ability for most people running 556 to only need an upper change and nothing else to dabble keeps it going. I have no crystal ball but the proliferation and improvement of the pistol brace is offsetting the numbers of people that wouldn’t invest the time or money in the sbr route, and I have to believe the companies like silencershop have demystified can ownership. I preface this all by saying that this post and my original are all my own feelings. So personally for me I have just fallen out of love with the x39, and trust me I was a huge proponent of it especially when good ak’s could be tripped over if you weren’t looking. Mainly though it’s the bullet, one flavor that is a gross over penetrator. I know Lehigh is not practical for everyday action but their are other companies making strides, like Gorilla and others.

And that's why the 300 whisper was what I wanted in a sub/suppressed HD or close range deer gun. Yes, that's what I consider a niche.

Though it fills it well now.

Where super is concerned, there are very few reasons at all to pick the blk over x39.

More bullet choices for loading your own, easier to run in an standard AR configuration, that's about it. None really touch that the x39 is cheaper to buy commercially than you'll ever be able to load it for yourself. And x39 has plenty of oomph behind it.

I still like x39 and many of the guns that are used to launch them

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